Arianna Moses
Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.
aldebaran68
I've never been a fan of van Damme (I'm die-hard Bruce Lee). This is one of his 'more human/humane' films. He goes to help family in distress. That's fine. He has compassion and empathy, and is probably a nice guy.However even 20 years ago I didn't like his fight choreography, and I like it less now. You can see the fighters telegraphing their moves. vD is so SLOW... He's like baby elephant. By the time he's completed one round house manoeuvre his opponent t could have ended the fight. His movement sequences are illogical. His opponents made to look stupid.But the final fight scene takes the cake. vD is supposed to have a BROKEN rib; not merely cracked but broken. He is being beaten up by this Attila idiot. Spends half the fight having his broken rib bashed repeatedly. Then he ends up making moves that would tax a fully fit and healthy martial artist. Leg movements intense and rapid. He should have been bleeding out and in agony, not winning the fight. Even for vD fantasy fight choreography this was Alice in Wonderland stuff.This film gets 5 for the human story. The rest even by vD ropey standards was pure bunkum...
Comeuppance Reviews
Lyon Gaultier (Van Damme) is a member of the French Foreign Legion serving in North Africa. When he receives word his brother is in trouble, he asks for some time off, but his superiors say no. So he deserts the desert, stows away on a ship and ends up in New York City without a penny to his name. The problem is, he needs to get to L.A. While walking the streets, he sees an underground Punchfighting match and decides to get involved. That's where he meets Eldridge (Page), a small-time promoter who takes a liking to him. Through Eldridge, Lyon begins making money through higher-class fights created by Cynthia (Rennard) and Russell (Thompson AKA Yahoots Magoondi). All Lyon wants to do is give the money to his destitute sister-in-law (Pelikan) and her five-year-old daughter Nicole (Johnson). Nicole ends up viewing Lyon as a father figure and loving him. But, as always, there's "one last fight" and this one's a killer: Attila (Abdel Qissi) is a brute favored to beat Lyon. On top of all that, two of his superior officers from the Legion have been tasked to bring him back, one of which is Hartog (Goric of Code Name: Zebra, 1987 fame). Will Lyon be Lionhearted enough to figure all this out? Devised by Van Damme and frequent collaborator Sheldon Lettich, Lionheart has many of the hallmarks of classic-era Van Damme: it went to the movie theater, it's 100 minutes or more, there's at least one scene of JCVD nudity, he punches and kicks a lot of people, and he wears some silly outfits. It may contain all the elements, but it seems something is missing with Lionheart. Maybe it's that Lyon isn't that likable, and the lack of overall character development. To be fair, Harrison Page puts in a lot of much-needed energy, and his role is basically the one played by Adolph Caesar in The Hitter (1979) - a movie which clearly laid the groundwork for this.It's funny, Lyon isn't in NYC for more than a few minutes before he sees the bumfighting/Punchfighting going on with all the action and people waving their money around. Then again, you have to remember that this was before Giuliani got rid of all the Punchfighting. Once Lyon gets to L.A. and takes on all comers, we see not just poolfighting, but also racquetball court-fighting. I guess something had to fill the space after the 80's trend ended. It was nice of the Y to allow that. In the poolfighting scene, both fighters are wearing skintight black wrestling singlets, so it's hard to tell them apart. We can only assume this is the same one Van Damme wore when he was in Breakin' (1984). The way the whole thing is shot is very reminiscent of the "Schmitt's Gay" sketch on Saturday Night Live.Besides the fact that it's very dumb, another problem with Lionheart is that there is no one, clear villain. It's just a series of fighters. Sure, Yahoots Magoondi is here at his Yahootiest, but it's just not enough. The cast is impressive and they do their best - even Billy Blanks and Jeff Speakman appear in tiny "blink and you'll miss them" roles. Attila seems to be the closest thing to a main bad guy, but he only shows up in the final minutes of the film. And he's a dead ringer for Gene Simmons, so it's hard to take him overly seriously as a guy who will break every bone in your body.As for the music, there's some classic 80's-style sax, of course, and there are musical cues that sound a lot like "There's No Easy Way Out" and "Eye of the Tiger" - but just barely escape copyright infringement. As JCVD is jogging in a gray sweatsuit no less. No Rocky Parallels there. The end song, "No Mercy" by Bill Wray stands out as a winner in the classic action movie AOR style. It should have been used during a training montage in the movie though, not just during the credits. But there is a shopping montage, and those are always fun.In all, Lionheart is standard, middle-of-the-road Van Damme. Fans will surely appreciate it, but newcomers to action movies shouldn't start with it.
movieman_kev
In this one the Muscles from Brussels stars as Leon, a foreign legion deserter who gets mixed up with no holds barred underground fighting at first to make a phone call then to give his sister-in-law some much needed money after her husband, his brother is murdered.If one thinks too hard about the pol of the film, it seems utterly ridiculous. But for an action flick it fits the bill quite nicely. Van Damme kicks a lot of butt and doesn't care. The film lulls a bit after he gets to LA, but picks back up before long. All in all a decent watch, but rather dumb, an enjoyable kind of dumb though.My grade: C+
muzafar.h.bokhari (amraampk)
Jcvd had been my favorite actors in early 1990s , i still have got his autographed photo he sent me in 1994. Even now in these times he is at least better than that freak Steven seagal. Some times on occasions along with his martial art moves he also delivers a solid performance being an actor like he did in Jcvd and in hell. However in this particular movie he delivered a fantastic performance both as an artist and martial arts tough guy. The fights were i believe after bloodsport were the most best , van dammes kicks were really awesome ,on the other hand he also played another face of a family man. The movie started when is his brother was killed by hired thugs/drug gangs after being set ab lazed , he who is serving in french foreign legion had to escape from his over zealot strict superiors to get to his sis in law and a niece he never saw. Now when he is U.S he s got no home and nothing to live on here he finds organized street fights where money is poured and paid in form of bets. Van damme meets a man named Joshua and shows him the fight skills and impresses him. Then Joshua takes him to Cynthia a very rich woman running the organized underworld fight biz while also she has connections to drug cartels. Inside she is quite vicious mean and cunning lady when she observes Lyon (van damme) s fight potential she is very anxious to capitalize on it. May she has some connection to death of his bro. Lyon for the sake of his remaining family is reluctantly agreed to fight for her while is being pursued by his officers of the legion. His manger Joshua is very concerned and sympathetic for him , always ready to help. i think i perhaps have seen this film some 20 times and still i ve not been bored. Wehn it comes to Van damme i consider it his one real great movie to be remembered.
